Cleanness is the backbone of prayer. Before praying one should be clean both in spirit and in body. A prayer performed without prior purification will avail to naught. And thy garments keep free from stain! And all abomination shun (74/4-5) One of the initially revealed verses stressed to the Prophet the importance of cleanliness. Cleanliness is faith has become a maxim.
GOD LOVES THE CLEAN
… He loves those who keep themselves pure and clean … (2/222)
… Allah loveth those who make themselves pure. (9/108)
The clean and the purified are encompassed by God's infinite mercy.
FREEDOM FROM DIRT
… and he caused rain to descend on you from heaven, to clean you therewith, to remove from you the stain of Satan, to strengthen your hearts, and to plant your feet firmly therewith. (8/11)
O ye who believe! when ye prepare for prayer, wash your faces, and your hands (and arms) to the elbows; Rub your heads (with water); and (wash) your feet to the ankles. If ye are in a state of ceremonial impurity, bathe your whole body. But if ye are ill, or on a journey, or one of you cometh from offices of nature, or ye have been in contact with women, and ye find no water, then take for yourselves clean sand or earth, and rub therewith your faces and hands, Allah doth not wish to place you in a difficulty, but to make you clean, and to complete his favour to you, that ye may be grateful. (5/6) Islam has transformed bodily cleanliness into a ritual. As one can see from the above verse one should wash oneself before every prayer. The bodily cleanliness paves one's way to spiritual purity. Absence of water is not an excuse.
SPRUCING ONESELF
… wear your beautiful apparel at every time and place of prayer (7/31)
God ordains that one should spruce oneself up before standing up for prayer. Considering that a believer performs five times the daily prayer, he is supposed to be always neat and trim. The socks must be in good condition without any holes and the feet must not emit a nasty odor. The mosque and the immediate environment should be kept free from dirt.
WHAT DISPLEASES GOD